Office Max swings to profit in Q4 on cost controls

Naperville, Ill. -- OfficeMax swung to a fourth-quarter profit as the company retailer continued to cut costs, though sales declined in both its contract and retail segments.

OfficeMax reported earnings of $12.7 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $2.58 million. Revenue decreased 2.4% to $1.77 billion. The chain expects sales to be flat for 2011.

“To date in 2011, we have experienced a variety of challenges for our business including adverse weather conditions, heightened promotional activity, and a lack of favorable economic conditions, and we anticipate that some of these challenges may persist," CFO Bruce Besanko said.

For the full year, total sales decreased 0.9% to $7.1 billion. It reported net income of $68.6 million.

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